Dobin Mushi, Brown

Japan

An elegant, single-serving, teapot-like ceramic vessel, a dobin mushi is used to prepare and serve matsutake dobin mushi (pine mushrooms in a delicate broth). The Japanese reverence for the sylvan earthiness of matsutakes is equivalent to the regard for truffles in the West. On one level matsutake dobin mushi could scarcely be more simple – a few sliced mushrooms, a couple of supporting ingredients and a delicate broth – but its gentle preparation and ritualized presentation elevates it to a sensual celebration of autumn itself.